Manchester United Vs Tottenham Hotspur preview

Jose Mourinho’s ultimate test to bring stability at United

Manchester United is going through a rough patch. A poor pre-season, lackluster 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Premier League opening day, coupled with humiliating 3-2 defeat against Brighton hasn’t helped Jose Mourinho’s side to earn great respect in terms of a title chasing team. And, Mourinho is next up against another title favourite Tottenham Hotspur. It’s a great chance for Mourinho to end all the negative buzz and start fresh with a victory at Old Trafford. It will be his ultimate test to bring stability at United.

There is nothing positive about Manchester United right now. Some believes Jose Mourinho will be the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season or otherwise Manchester United board will be looking to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer replacing Ed Woodward. A new role in Manchester United hierarchy is also considered as Sporting Director.

These are all speculations but currently what Manchester United need is an attitude change. They have to turn themselves from a laughing stock to a serious contender for the title. Red Devils have got a great opportunity to change the things around them with a victory over another title contender.

Everyone will forget the defeat against Brighton, if they put on a great show against Tottenham Hotspur. They have home advantage and they have been victorious on last four occasions when Spurs visited Old Trafford.

If United have on-field problems, Spurs is also suffering from their off-field distractions. Their grand new White Hart Lane Stadium hasn’t prepared on time. Club fans are forced to pay higher prices for ticket to watch matches at Wembley, their second home. However, it hasn’t impacted their on-field performances as they overcome Newcastle and Fulham with an ease.

They haven’t signed any new player to strengthen their team but they have done a tremendous job to retain their already strong squad. Harry Kane has started the new campaign strongly scoring for the first time in August. Kieran Trippier has evolved as their best man from free-kicks and coach Mauricio Pochettino even said he was lucky to lose Kyle Walker for Trippier.

On the other hand, Manchester United is struggling to keep a clean sheet. David De Gea is not going through his best period with goalkeeping gloves. Mourinho is not sure about his centre-back pairing. Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof have turned out to be poor choice. He is left to play with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.

Their full-back position is also open for everyone to grab. Luke Shaw has been deployed as left-back whereas Ashley Young has owned the right-back position. Young never looked promising in the right-back position. New arrival Diogo Dalot is injured and Mourinho doesn’t trust Matteo Darmian. He will have to wait for Antonio Valencia to get fit and back as no.1 right-back chice.

Midfield is a complete mess with Paul Pogba, Andreas Pereira, and new arrival Fred. They will have to wait for veteran defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic to be fully fit to support the back-four. A solid back-up will allow Fred and Pogba to excel in their position and they’ll help the forward-line.

Juan Mata and Anthony Martial have done enough in their position. Alexis Sanchez is expected to solve their problem once he returns from injury, but till then Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford is expected to be deployed as left and right winger respectively. Romelu Lukaku has got no competition as centre-forward.

Overall, United doesn’t have a poor team. They only haven’t used their resources in the best possible manner. They need a tactical change to bring in some positivity in the game with more attacking football.

It’s going to be a big test for United against Tottenham Hotspur. Jose Mourinho needs to bring stability to the club and a victory is absolute necessity against Spurs at Old Trafford.